Surface-covering.



E. T. BATES. SURFACE covnme. APPLICATION FILED 11110.29, 1911. V

Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

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SURFACE GOVERING.

APPLIUATION NLBD DEo.29,1g11.

"Eatented OG. 1, 1912.

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nnwann r. Barns, orwhs'irgegion, ms''nrcror COLUMBIA.

Patented Oct. 1, mi2.

'appiaal'uea'una member-Tas, 1an; serialv no. 668,567.

To all wwm it may cocemr- Be it known that lal,I lI wAan;.=.I Burns. acitizen of the United States, zresidin .at Washington, in the District.oLColum ia, have invented certain new..ahd usefulIm-t Erovements inSurface-Coveringstjand I do ereby declare the followin .to'-be" a full,clear, and exact descri tion o the invention; such as will enable ot ersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to decorative art, such as floor and muraldecorations, combining therewith utility, durability and economy, andhas for its object the production of surface covering such as tiling,wainscoting, mats, or other decorative or useful surfaces which can bemade highly ornamental bv separating the tiles or unita into arts andusm a .variety of colors to prouce pleasin esigua.

The invention consists in-certainim rovements in construction, .wherebypa removed from one tile or unit .or one color are interchangeable withlike parts removed from tiles or units or other colors, and all thematerial from which the tiles or units are made utilized without loss bywaste or scrapens.4

Ti e or other4 surface coverings molded of rubber, rubber compoundsandthe likeare. expensive and thereby greatl .-limited in' their use. Itis my urpose reduce a more economical arti e of the nd, with'- outsacrificing any of the decorative, sanitary or other desirable qualitiesby usin linoleum, rubber, or other suitable materi and after suitableperforationsare, mad thereby removing key ieces of the desire shape,cuttin the g. 'or units -from sheets of the esired material. i

The invention will .be full disclosed in the following specification an4claims. f

In the accompanying .drawings,` which form part of this specification,Fi re 1. represents a plan view, showing ap uralityof tiles or unitssecured together thus forming an ornamental compact' ,planeurfaoes -fFig,.-

6 is a like viewbj Fig. 7 isa Iplaii viewshowlng" another ada tation ofthe invention. Fig.. 8,is a side e ovation of the wall of thekeymer'nber. Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section of the key providedwith means for Fig. 10 is a vertical section showing two la ers ofmaterial provided with said means. 'Y teferencebein had to the drawingsand the designating iaracters thereon, the numeral 1 indicates sectionsof covering or tiles composed of angular units, combinations orsubdivisions of such units, having abutting sides or edges which unitsor erts when pro erly laced form a comp eted plane sur ace. heconfiguration of thc tiles may be varied to suit taste, and conditionsof use, and may thus be of any preferred form, so long as they areprovided with abuttin sides or edges.

.In the si es or edges of the units are formed semi-circular recesses oropenings 2, which when made to register with ike semicircular openingsin an adjoinin J unit form circular openings which are filed by arm..lesslocking members or keys 3. It is ob` vious that the locking membersor keys Si and. therecesses-2 may be of other forms than.circular,-so.long as they conform in shape yund size and t at the keys3 are ining,=and effectuall ock the members 1 and thensubdivisions tereof to ether, und are alsoinsertiblel and removab e from the re`ceases 2 in the plane of the units when the abuttin section or piece isremoved.

l. .Itis ound desirable in the construction of lsome covering or tilingto further remove portions by. cutting one or more circular olpenings 8,8, preferably of the diameter oii t e members 9, as shown in Fi 1, whichServes a two-fold purpose, irshgby permittingofadditional ornamentation,and also preventing buckling of the 'surface, by more evenly distributinthe severing of the liber. This also aids in istributing the pressure ofwear throughout the surface.. A The-covering or tiles may befgmade ci u-varietyef material and colors and placed iu position t0 produceornamental ldesigns iu :great variety, .0r a' VSurface combining hardlor. rigdfmaterials'with others more elastic,

to uti izethe .durability of the former while lecturing theL 4resilienceand anti-slipping qualitieslbf the latter, and the units may bc 'securedto a backing 10 of textile material securing 4it or the covering inposition, and

` sertlble from the up er surface of the coverforconveneneefinyhandliiig, Izi'aiifsrgirtlatiii l and use, and the'eoverin may be secured-,tog a floor, walllorthe like y,..cement. y wie.,There-f` is practically no"liiiiit'f` tol chan es in design that may beproduced'bytliel ,f-, ferent colors of units and subdivisions and"combinations thereof, ,andthe artistic diss; tribution''ofl the membersl'and the subdivisions of said units andthe keys 3;

The keys'are preferably rovided with a wall 4 of greater density.. tan-the 4Lillin within the wa1l,`isuchas metal or otherhar material, thewall-is roughened onitlieiouter surface 5, by grooves or serrationmtorin any preferred manner,-and the-fillin may extend below the lowerend ofthe wa 1 4 to form a cushion for the key.

The key ma be provided with a suitable device, as I6,-w ich forv theurpose of illus-l tration is shown as a nail with its head embeddedbet-ween two layers of filling and the point of the nail extendingbeyond the filling and is designed to be driven in a fioor, wall,ceiling or the like, or may be used for other purposes than securingunits of surfaces in position.

The wall 4 may be driven in and embedded in the material 1 instead offirst cuttin outthe stock to form the openings 2, an they may be drivendown only part ofthe thiclmess of the said members and the units leavinga cushion of stock beneath them, or the may be made of a length equal tothe t ickness of the stock and driven through the same. Or they ma bemade of a length in excess yof the thic ess of the stock'and securedinto thevfoundation to protect'the units against dis lacement.

The inner surface of the oweredgeof the wall 4 of the keys` maybe'beveled as shown at 7 to `form a cutting edge tolallow the wallto'bedrivem into the stockl and form the filling of the key 8 which maybe done after the units are in place. The covering or tiling isreferably made of linoleum, rubber, or ot er material in sheets that canbe readily out by sha edged tools or knives into units-having` iimttinreverso angles or subdivisions thereof whicE may represent right.`angled or equilateral triangles or subdivisions thereof,'circles orother forms, nsfshown inthe drawings.

The locking members or-,keys may be y'cut out by dies or punches, or'asuitable machine.- operated stam or die may be' used.

It will be lov'served that b3' separatin the tiling into garts asdescribe no parto the material isfI ester wasted, andthe parte cut outof metile-'will fitintofahlike 'openingjn any othertileeo'f likeeonstrue tion,itliere mg no waste by the'cuttinpandLnra ged? edgesformed to resistiixisertion-,offlocin l members or'keys. Furthermo,lthendist Iface and repairs areeasily und readily Alx'iliade, byclisplacin or removing injured or winni-units and su stituting new ones.LTThe-unitsl may be separated into numerous tipgulalbsectionm 0r otherdivisions thereof may be made as desired to change the design beingWorked out, or the conditions required. `It is obvious that changes maybe made "'"in forni of the-'imits and the keys without f'departing fromthe spirit of my invention,

poem-maybe made into interesting an instructive t0 s b the almostunlimited conibinatioiis o coli'irsand designs that can be 'construbtedfrom two or more units of different ooloraa It is also obvious that therings or walls 4- may-be applied to the covering either with the members3 retained, or they may be applied Without the use of said members, asshown in Figs. 1 and 3, in which 2 indi- Cates openings or perforationsin the covering, whose walls are formed by the rings or walls 4, thusproducing a perforated covering or mat to allow dust to pass through. iIt is also my purpose to construct cover- .ing of the same kind in whichtwo thicknesses or layers of covering of different i. colors may beplaced back to back, prefer- :ably connected together at theirregistering outer sides or edges, and the ring or wall e inserted in thetwo layers of covering as -shownin Figs. 6 and 10, thus productingreversible coverings, such as rugs or mats.

In all of the described uses of the rings 4, the wearin surface of thecovering is freinforced, an in covering exposed to ex- 1 cessive wear, aportion thereof may be made of large sections uncut, and ornamentalboriders ofcoverin such as shown in Fig. l attlched thereto ythe lockingmembers and lteylsl as' described. f Fi .17' ofthe drawings I have showni'lielqlilp ication of the locking members to units aving right angledabuttin sides or :edges which are etfectually locke together theinsertion of the lockin members b wliich' are lalso insertible from tieface or outer surface of the covering, and are laterally removable fromthe o enings 2 in the plane of the units when a joining units orsubdivisions have been removed.

Itwill be observed that all abutting units are Joined-together by thekeys so that they are secured-againstse eration in the plane pf' the'unitsand'that t e keys are removable 'mthe plane of the units when anabutting Hinit has 'been lremoved. ff .l-iHavin* .thus fully describedmy invention, fwhat'I" ainiiss- 1* v i f? {IlfFlekible'tilingfcomprisingunits interelookedladuii'itedfiii the plane of the sur- Qfw,said'unitsbeingprovided with adjaoent and "registering salientandrentrunt bution ofthe openings "andf"t oir-""lling' members ias/uch, hatnobuckling of the sur-J Iangular 'sides and a recess `orrecesses in theor units of suitable material for the mrisc ' of units having abuttingedges provided y ioeonir sides, and each recess in a salient angleregistering with asimilar recess in the side of an abutting rentrantangle of a unit; in combination with keys, each key engaging two of saidrecesses, uniting the units and intercepting all lines of separation ofunits in the plane of the surface.

2. Flexible tiling having abutting edges provided with a recess orrecesses extending through the tiling; in combination with separate keyshaving surrounding walls of greater density than the tiles andperinanently attached fillings extending beyond the lower edge of thewall.

3. Flexible tiling lcomprising a plurality with registering recessesextending through the tiling; in combination with keys having walls ofgreater density than the tilesj provided with roughened outer surfacesand surrounding a Flexible filling.

4. Flexible tiling comprising a plurality or units having perforationsextending through the tiling; in combination with members having wallsof greater density than the body of said members and illing saidperforations.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Ely/YARD T. BATES.

lflfitnesses D. C. Reiner-IL, WUJLIAM B. JACKSON.

